WHERE WE ARE

.

WHERE WE’VE BEEN

Like branches from the source of the tree, we are extensions of our past. Our political history is rich and complex. This section provides sources about our political history as a people, including books, journal articles and videos that are available online or at your local public library. Here the focus is on where we have been as a people, the establishment and operation of our country, the Hawaiian Kingdom, by our aliʻi, and events and people that have brought about great change.

This site includes the scanned images and transcription of Blount Report. The Blount report is a 1,400 page report completed by Special Commissioner James H. Blount who was appointed by U.S. President Cleveland to investigate the events surrounding the overthrow of the Queen and the sentiment of the people towards the Provisional Government.

A brief synopsis of an extensive study documenting the long history of Native Hawaiian Governance that emphasizes that Native Hawaiians are the indigenous people of Hawaiʻi who exercised sovereignty over these islands and have continuously exercised forms of self-governance.

This site includes the scanned images of the Kūʻē petitions. These petitions are composed of over 38,000 signatures of people who were opposed to the Annexation of Hawaiʻi to the United States in 1897. These petitions helped to defeat the second treaty of Annexation that was proposed by the Republic of Hawaiʻi.

In this book by Queen Liliʻuokalani, she recounts stories from her childhood, major events that defined the reigns of former monarchs before her, and the events surrounding the overthrow of her government in 1893. Also available for online reading

Professor Jon Osorio explores the effects of western law on the national identity of native Hawaiians as he covers Hawaiʻi’s political history in this book that spans the time between the first constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom in 1840 until the 1887 “Bayonet Constitution.”

Paʻa Ke Aupuni is a unique 60-minute hand-drawn, animated film that gets straight to the point. It zooms in on key facts explaining how the Hawaiian Kingdom came to be, how it evolved to stand firmly on the international world stage of sovereign nations, and how the United States came to claim Hawai‘i.

In many ways, Ke Aupuni Hawai‘i, the Hawaiian government, remains pa‘a—steadfast and enduring. Yet “pa‘a” can also describe something that is stuck or retained, in this case by powers holding fast to control over Hawai‘i.

Pa‘a Ke Aupuni lays bare the realities of this history. It’s a set of facts we all need to know as the push to reestablish a Hawaiian nation gains momentum.

This book asserts that Hawaiian language materials have largely been left out of the telling of Hawaiʻi’s political history. Through an examination of sources from the Hawaiian Language, Noenoe reveals stories about how the Hawaiian people actively resisted American colonialism.

This
paper documents some of the thought and actions of the Hui Aloha 'Àina and
the Hui Kàlai'àina,6
who, following the military occupation of 1898, attempted
to gain local political power through establishing the Home Rule Party in order
to affect at least the local laws controlling their lives and to maintain their own
cultural identity against increased efforts towards complete cultural hegemony
by Americans.

This site includes links to the Blount Report, Congressional Debates on the Hawaii Organic Act, Anti-Annexation Petitions and documents, the Morgan Report, Hawaii’s Story by Hawaiʻi’s Queen, People and Places connected with the Annexation, and Political Caricatures of the Hawaiian Kingdom 1875-1905.

In this collection of essays, Trask touches upon topics such as Hawaiian indignity, environmental devastation through militarization, cultural prostitution, and Ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi’s platform in the different political arenas.

This collection includes subject research guides, bibliographies, databases, indexes, dissertations and thesis. The Hawaiian and Pacific collection at UH Mānoa’s Hamilton library, located on the 5th floor is the largest collection in the Pacific of its kind. Materials may be requested and viewed in the reading room, and certain materials may be checked out by the general public after the purchase of a yearly access card.

Ulu’ulu is a moving image archive that aims to perpetuate and share rich moving image of Hawaii through the preservation of film and videotape related to the history and culture of Native Hawaiians and the people of Hawai’i.

UH West O’ahu

WHERE WE ARE

All knowledge is not learned in one school. If you asked someone from Waiʻanae how to catch ʻōpelu, you will probably get a different answer if you asked that same question to someone from Hānā. This is not because one way is better than the other, but because one way suited the people and suited that place. Today our people have continued to seek multiple ways to achieve our goals. With an understanding of where we have been, sources in this section touch on the different views on what our political history means for us today. There is also information about how other countries have dealt with similar issues of governance.

Post Juris Doctor Julian Aguon addresses the legal harms done to the Hawaiian Kingdom by the United States and three paths to curing those harms: deoccupation, decolonization and indigenous rights. He explores the pros and cons of each path as well as the legal implications of the Akaka Bill.

Dr. Keanu Sai, Prof. Williamson Chang and former governor now Roll Commission Chair John Waiheʻe III speak about their ideas and research on the alternative positions on Hawaiian Sovereignty for people today.

James Anaya served as the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from 2008 until 2014. He helped draft the United Nations ("U.N.") Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Anaya is a Regents Professor at the U of A's James E. Rogers College of Law, where he teaches International Human Rights, International & Comparative Law of Indigenous Peoples, and Constitutional Law. He earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Robert Williams has represented indigenous groups and individuals before international human rights bodies as well as the U.S. and Canada Supreme Courts. He is the author and coauthor of several books used widely as foundational texts for Federal Indian law and indigenous studies. Also at U of A, Williams teaches courses on issues including Indigenous People in the InterAmerican Human Rights System, Federal Indian Law, Tribal Courts and Jurisdictional Issues. Like Anaya, Williams graduated from Harvard Law School.

60-minute presentation that highlights findings of their 50-page report.

James Anaya served as the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples from 2008 until 2014. He helped draft the United Nations ("U.N.") Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Anaya is a Regents Professor at the U of A's James E. Rogers College of Law, where he teaches International Human Rights, International & Comparative Law of Indigenous Peoples, and Constitutional Law. He earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School.
Robert Williams has represented indigenous groups and individuals before international human rights bodies as well as the U.S. and Canada Supreme Courts. He is the author and coauthor of several books used widely as foundational texts for Federal Indian law and indigenous studies. Also at U of A, Williams teaches courses on issues including Indigenous People in the InterAmerican Human Rights System, Federal Indian Law, Tribal Courts and Jurisdictional Issues. Like Anaya, Williams graduated from Harvard Law School.

This is a research journal on topics of Hawaiian political history and its current implications. Published in association with the Hawaiian Society of Law and Politics, edited by graduate students from the Departments of Political Science, Law, and the Center for Hawaiian Studies at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa.

As our lāhui continues to seek greater control over our lives and homeland, the voices of our kūpuna who have risen up to meet such challenges continue to inspire, energize, and guide us forward. The #HawaiianPatriots Project connects us to their voices.

This is the website of Poka Laenui, Waiʻanae native and long time Sovereignty activist. Here you may find his manaʻo on topics such as The Department of the Interiors recent meetings in Hawaii, Health care for kānaka, and Hawaiian Sovereignty.

Dr. Keanu Sai provides information in the form of two-page essays on this page for Hawaiian Nationals on topics such as the Constitutional Monarchy, the relationship between the Hawaiian Kingdom and the United States, and what comprises the Hawaiian citizenry.

The Kāmau a Ea series of governance events have sought to engage leaders of Hawaiian self-governance initiatives in collective efforts to rebuild a Hawaiian nation.

The first four Kāmau a Ea gatherings focused on internal lāhui discussions. The fifth and final Kāmau a Ea symposium brought experts from outside of our lāhui to share their insights regarding the establishment and reestablishment of nations at an international and federal/U.S. level.

The name of the series, Kāmau a Ea, holds significant meaning. “Ea” is translated as “life” but also means “sovereignty, rule, and independence,” as embodied in the words of Kauikeaouli on Lā Hoʻihoʻi Ea, Restoration Day: “Ua mau ke ea o ka ʻāina i ka pono.” “Kāmau” means “to keep on, continue, persevere, last, add a little more,” which honors the efforts of those who have persevered to restore ea since 1893.

In an attempt to fulfill the federal government’s moral imperative, the United States Congress has spent more than a decade considering several proposed versions of the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act (colloquially referred to as the “Akaka Bill”), which seeks to restore a small measure of Native Hawaiian self-governing authority by providing a process for the formal federal acknowledgment of a reorganized Native Hawaiian governing entity. The proposed Act changes significantly with each new Congress, but from its initial introduction in 2000 to the present, the Act has consistently required that the initial reorganization of the Native Hawaiian polity be carried out by the Native Hawaiian community, united by common Native Hawaiian descent without regard to blood quantum.

In anticipation for the convening of a Hawaiian Convention upon certification of the Native Hawaiian Roll, Nuʻuhiwa explores the concept of cultural sovereignty as opposed to political sovereignty as a starting point for how a Hawaiian governing entity should provide for the protection of Hawaiian civil rights.

Two native authors, kanaka maoli, Poka Laenui and Virgilio Enriques of the Philippines express their observations with colonization and decolonization of native peoples through their own personal experiences.

In his dissertation in Political Science, Sai looks at the development of the Hawaiian Kingdom, the illegal overthrow of its government, the prolonged occupation of its territory, and a strategy to impel the United States to comply with the international laws of occupation with the ultimate goal of ending the occupation.

This website contains information related to the U.S. Department of the Interior's current initiative that involves a proposed rule making process that may lead to the reestablishment of a government-to-government relationship between the Hawaiian people and the U.S. Federal Government.

Post Juris Doctor scholar Ka'anoʻi Walk explores the options for creating an ʻŌiwi court system for Hawaiians. He covers Hawai'i's judicial history and lessons we can learn from the courts established by the people of the Hopi and Navajo tribes and the people of Palau.

Žalimas summarizes the points and issues in this condensed version of his longer article

Hawaiian Society of Law & Politics Website

As you search through these sources they will sometimes overlap in their scope as one source will often cover many points in time, however they are largely organized as described in the above sections.

Mo‘oaupuni: Resources on Hawaiian Political Landscapes

Moʻoaupuni is the history or succession of our government: from the past, to the present and into the future. Moʻo, in this sense, refers to a succession or story. Aupuni refers to government. Aupuni can be further broken down into two words: au and puni. Au refers to a train of thought or opinion, a current as of water, a time period or cycle, or fibers that make something strong. Puni refers to the action of surrounding or covering around every side, as with the ocean surrounding our islands. If you have suggestions about the site, please let us know.

Promoting Discussion

OHA did not edit or insist on any approval process for the enclosed documents or presentations prior to their being uploaded. The information and views represented in this online repository of perspectives on Native Hawaiian self-determination do not necessarily represent the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, or any individuals listed with the exception of the authors of each respective document or presentation.